A/N Hello everyone! A small bit of information for you. This is the end of the third year for the trio and I am not being able to come up with enough interesting incidents to start the fourth year yet. There might be a slight hiatus in the writing. I was hoping you could suggest some of your own ideas so that I could look it up and write on it if I find it interesting enough! Till then, enjoy this little chapter I have to offer! And please don't forget to review! It's my motivation fuel…
The past few weeks had been hectic. What with last minute revisions and numerous wand movement practices and memorising all the ingredients of a particular potion, most students had been at the brink of a nervous collapse. No wonder the talisman business flourished. Even James and Henry were found poring through a stack of books and taking down notes in the library. They were in their fifth year and would be appearing for OWLs this year.
Rose was even worse. One would often find her hidden behind a large stack of books, furiously scratching away on a parchment and snatching up her wand from time to time to practice a spell. Her friends and family kept away in fear of having their head bitten off. The only thing to keep her sane was the occasional game of chess with Al or Malfoy.
Today was the last day of the exams. Rose sat in the Great Hall, taking tiny bites from the ham sandwich as she studied from a text book propped up against her goblet. They had Defence Against the Dark Arts within half an hour followed by Charms in the afternoon.
Someone plopped down beside her, disturbing her concentration. She turned sharply.
'Whoa! It's me!'
Scorpius sat there holding up his hands in mock surrender and grinning like a buffoon. She scowled.
'Couldn't you have sat down a little less noisily?' she ground out, 'now you've made me lose my line.'
'Don't you think you've studied enough?' Scorpius pointed his wand at the book and made it hover inches away from her reach.
'Stop that!' she made a grab for the book, 'and no. I've to practice a few spells and charms. And I haven't finished the last chapter of this yet. Now go away and find someone else to bother.'
'C'mon, Carrots! These chapters won't be there in the exam. That's OWL level, for Godric's sake! And as for the other matter,' he continued, trying to pull her to her feet, 'that can be remedied. I suggest we go find an empty classroom.'
'What for?' Rose frowned. Then realization struck, 'To practice those spells?'
'Nah. I wanted to snog you.'
'WHAT!'
'Of course to practice spells!'
She didn't resist after that.
ooooooo
Ten minutes after the exams had ended, Al was still shaking his head disbelievingly, 'I can't believe I completely confused the Hover Charm with the Floating Charm!'
All three of them were lolling on the ground by the lake. The leaves overhead murmured in the wind and tiny rippled marred the glassy surface of the water. The sun was bidding adieu to rose-tinted clouds floating across the sky. Clusters of students chatted amongst themselves, discussing the exams or raced each other near the bank of the lake. Some threw crumbs of bread into the water and gasped and cheered when a large tentacle sneaked from the black depths to snatch them away. Hogwarts looked splendid during sunset.
'What a pity!' smirked Scorpius, answering Al's distress.
'You don't understand,' said Albus as he pulled out the crumpled question paper out of his bag, 'Just because you don't need to put an effort to study does not mean that the rest of us are the same.'
'Hey! I too need to put an effort to study. I'm just not as obsessed as you.'
'I'm not obsessed!'
'Yes you are.'
'No I'm not!'
'Yes you are.'
'I'm not!'
'Are too,' sang Scorpius.
'Am not.'
'Will you two do me a favour and shut up?' Rose threw a clump of grass at them and massaged her forehead. 'Christ! You sound like a couple of quarrelling little girls!'
'We do not!'
Rose groaned. Those two idiots would drive her crazy if they kept up their chatter. The exams had been harrowing to say the least. Now all she wanted was to lie somewhere peaceful and close her eyes. She gave an enormous yawn and stretched.
'Wish we could go down to Hogsmeade.,' sighed Scorpius.
'As a matter of fact, we could,'
'Great. I need a drink badly.'
'Me too,' said Al.
'Are you coming, Carrots?'
'Nah. You two go. I'm gonna go check on Hailey and then have a nap,' she yawned again, 'I could sleep for a week.'
They left her lying there. It was well into the evening when she dusted her robes and dragged herself back to the castle. Prefect Reginns was not pleased.
oooooo
'Have you packed all your undies?' Rose asked Hugo on the way down to breakfast. The Hogwarts Express would be leaving the station at precisely 11 o'clock. All needed their trunks packed and deposited near the entrance to the Great Hall to be ferried onto the train.
'Will you shut up!' hissed Hugo, turning a dark shade of scarlet, 'You'll embarrass me in front of everyone.'
Lily giggled, earning a scowl from him.
Rose snorted, 'Good. You should be familiar with that particular emotion. I had a doubt if you could feel that emotion at all. What with all the embarrassing things you do…'
Hugo yanked her hair and ran off.
'Hugo Weasley! Do that one more time and I would hex you into oblivion, I swear,' she yelled after him.
Lily giggled once again.
Once they reached the Hall, Rose made her way to the Ravenclaw table. Al and Scorpius were chatting with James while Dominique swished her hair from time to time. Many boys were eyeing her from a distance.
'Hey Rosie!' James waved, shifting to make space for her.
'You guys packed?'
Al shrugged, 'I just need to return a couple of books to the library.' James rolled his eyes.
'What are you doing over here?' Rose turned to James.
'Showing off,' snorted Dominique, 'Someone of Ravenclaw has caught his fancy.'
'What?!' all heads swiveled to her, then to James, who looked annoyed.
'Who is it?'
'Have you talked to her?'
'Is it a him or her?' followed by snorts and coughing. Al had choked on his pumpkin juice.
'Will you shut up!' scowled James.
'Tell us her name!'
'Show us.'
'James and dot dot siting on a tree/ K-I-S-S-I-N-G,' Scorpius started singing, dodging James's attempts to clamp a hand on his mouth.
'C'mon,' urged everyone, 'Tell us or it's going to get worse.'
'Alright, alright. It's Virginia Walters.'
Everybody went quiet, similar expressions of shock on all their faces. Then Dominique burst out laughing. Rose and Scorpius joined her. Al looked ill.
'What! Are you out of you mind?' he spluttered, 'She is a bloody Prefect!'
'Oh, this is rich,' Rose said, wiping tears of mirth, 'of all the girls, he had to go and fall for the one who was a Prefect,' she chuckled.
'Yeah,' agreed Scorpius, 'There goes James's career as a prankster.'
James could only hide his face in his hands and groan.
oooooo
The compartment was empty except for the three of them and their owls. Rose sat chewing her lips, pondering her next move against Al. They were playing wizarding chess. Scorpius could see that Al was taking a serious beating. Already three of his pawns were dead along with a knight and a bishop.
He turned and looked out of the window. The rugged land had long since been replaced by vast areas of plain land. Trees and shrubs wheezed past his eyes. Here and there he would find an odd cow chew grass. He had begun to spot one or two houses as well. They were drawing near to London. It was almost evening. He stretched his legs and stood up.
'Going out?' Rose looked up from the chessboard.
'Just stretching my legs. And let me see if I can find the food trolley again. I'm starved.'
'Bring me a couple of Chocolate Frogs if you can,' said Al, frowning as one of Rose's pawns walked upto his remaining bishop and punched him in the face.
'Yeah, yeah, Your Majesty,' Scorpius muttered before sliding the door shut.
It was almost dark when he returned. The chessboard had been packed away. Rose was stroking Apollo absent-mindedly while Al riffled through a magazine. The scene looked so familiar. Only that time he did not know these two. Rose and Albus. Who knew they would end up being such good friends. He shook his head and entered.
'Hey! I have some news.'
Rose stopped stroking and Al lowered the magazine to direct him a questioning look.
'I saw James trying to talk to that Walters girl.'
'Why didn't you call me? I could have witnessed his humiliation,' snorted Al.
'Hush. Let him be, Al,' frowned Rose, 'don't mess with anyone when he is love.'
'He's not in love, Rosie,' shot back Al, 'wait till he finds another beautiful girl to fall out of love for Walters. I know my brother, and I am only worried for myself. Walters could make my life a living hell if she wanted to.' he finished.
Rose only shook her head, 'I know it is serious this time.'
'How can you be so sure?'
Rose only smiled a knowing smile.
'It's all a bunch of dragonshit, I'm telling you,' Al scoffed. 'It's not gonna last more than two weeks.'
Scorpius was quietly following their interaction. He barged in at this point, 'Wanna have a bet on it?'
The two turned to him surprised, then broke into identical grins. 'You are talking like a Weasley!' laughed Rose.
They arrived at King's Cross Station late into the evening. The Weasley-Potter clan could be identified by all the redheads and the insistent chatter going on among them. Rose and Al turned towards them as Scorpius peered around for his mom and dad. Then he spotted them, standing a little aloof and removed from the rest of the people at the back of the platform. He dragged his trunk down the steps and made a beeline for them.
'How was terms, honey?' his mother hugged him. He smiled.
'Great!'
Then he turned to his father. 'Hello Dad,' he murmured.
'Hello son,' then Draco went on to do something he had never done before. He went and gave Scorpius an awkward one-armed hug.
'Hey Snowy!' Rose yelled over the noise. She uttered something inaudible when he turned.
'What? I couldn't hear you…'
'I said write to us. Apollo could do with some exercise!'
'Yeah of course!'
'Have a great summer Snowy!' she grinned impishly.
'You too Carrots!' he grinned back as they walked out of the station into the busy streets of London.
oooooo
To be continued…
